Triple Strength

298. Trap: Wiremu

“We need to move from here. I will find you a place to hide and come for you soon.” I hoisted the unconscious Petro onto my shoulder, and Lilian limped after me. She was wearing a pair of trousers and the one good shirt, both of which were too large for her. She had cut the legs short so she didn’t trip, and a rope at her waist held everything together. I had put the other trousers on Petro. I melted the lock off and then used Granite Spikes to jam it shut. Lilian was staring at me wide-eyed.

I led the way deeper into the quarry and found a hidden corner that I enlarged. I placed Petro down and said to Lilian, “Watch him. I will be back.”

“But if you are not?” she said.

“At the southern end of the cliff at the back of the quarry, you will find some hand holds for climbing about four meters up. It will get you to the top. It is best you wait for me to return, but if things go wrong, that is your best way out.” Lilian nodded, and I left them there with a water skin.

The buildings were much the same as when I was there. There were two extra barracks and a second stable. I fixed the clasp that held the bow, but I didn’t have a replacement string with me. That was a stupid error.

I went to check on the prisoners. The troopers were Tabitha’s destination. There were less than fifty prisoners. Much less than when I was here. They were in worse condition as well. I identified ten nightguards and then moved on to the commander's office. I needed some idea of when the next wagons were coming and details on the current troopers.

As I was going through the paperwork, Tabitha seemed to step out of the shadows in the doorway. “Almost eighty slaves are sleeping in a bunkhouse built for forty. I have located the Slave Taskmaster.”

“A caravan is due next week to collect them and a load of Granite. It is also bringing supplies. It will take Ruku and me longer than a week to release eighty slaves from the class, even if they are new slaves.”

“Do you want to get them out or stay and fortify?” Tabitha asked.

“If we get them out, we will be on the run with a large group and no supplies. It is best to stay and resupply from the caravan. Then, we can use the wagons to move them. I don’t know where we will take 130 ex-prisoners,” I replied.

“A lot of the prisoners will deserve to be here, murderers, rapists, thieves.”

“I trust you and Modrica can bring them into line?”

Tabitha just grinned.

First, we have to take this place,” I said. “There are three hundred regular troops and fifty specialised Troopers.”

“How many did you kill in the torture area?” She knew me too well.

“Ten plus the medic.”

“Plus the two as we entered. Ten guarding the prisoners and twenty on the wall. Therefore, three hundred are in the barracks. It seems a lot of manpower for just over a hundred prisoners.” Tabitha mused.

“It does, doesn’t it?” I said. “There used to be three times the prisoners. There doesn’t seem to be anything here that might explain it.”

“Bureaucracy?” Tabitha questioned. “Two hundred to two-fifty is normal and extra to guard the Taskmaster? Regardless of whether they are needed?”

“Maybe,” I said slowly. “You have a plan for three fifty?”

“You are the trap master. Trap each barrack exit and have Modrica knock on the gate. We circle the back rows of the fight, taking out key people.”

“A good basic plan. I wish the bowstring hadn’t been cut. I will also blockade the Slave bunkhouse so no one can enter or exit, and you kill the Slave Taskmaster. The slaves will not have any master, and no one can get in to become the master, taking them out of the fight. Tāoke can take out the guards around the prisoners and then come and help. Did we miss anything?” I asked.

“What about people running away?”

“If word gets out, that would be bad. Dusk is ideal to chase down runners. With Umreti on the wall, he can direct the Hornets as needed, either to the runners or to the main fight.”

“Ruku and Lee?”

“Ruku could be anywhere, but Modrica and Težka probably need someone to watch their back. Lee is not really a fighter.”

“Watch for runners?” Tabitha asked.

“Maybe watch Umreti’s back. There are twenty on the wall. She might learn something from him.”

“Done then. How long do you need to set up the traps?”

“Several hours,” was my answer.

“I will go and let the others know. Two hours before dawn?”

“Sounds good.”

She faded back into the shadows, and I went to see what I could do to create traps for three hundred troopers. Eight identical barracks housed fifty people each, six of whom were occupied. There were two doors each, and the obvious thing was to trap the entrances. That will get the first two or three out the door before those behind them realise what is going on. Then, they will exit through the windows or bust through a wall. Therefore, the trap has to create confusion and panic to get more people. I also need to trap the common routes to the main gate.

First, the Barracks. If I trap the doors and flood the barrack with Phantasm Venom Cloud, it will weaken and confuse them, making them more likely to fall into other traps. I create rock containers full of gas and a trigger. This will be like a fuse. A piece of lava will melt through the Granite at a certain speed. Plus or minus ten minutes should not significantly affect the gas release. I place these under the barracks and make small holes in the floor for the gas. Three per barrack for redundancy, but two should be enough.

At each door, I placed a pit trap, but this is only one meter deep with a lava floor, which was another half meter deep. The trick here is that the first person crashing through the ultra-thin Granite layer will take some rope into the lava with them. This should ignite and carry the fire to the wooden barracks, which will cause more confusion to already confused minds. I found the officer's liquor cabinet to soak the barrack doors and the ropes, which were available in their equipment store.

Now, as a tracker, you anticipate where your prey is most likely to go. When confused people crash out of a burning building, what are they going to do? Some will try to sound the alarm bells. Others will go to the well for water. Others will head to the medic station. All good places for smaller traps. While I was at the well, I crisscrossed some spikes halfway down so the bucket wouldn’t lower to the water. There were several water barrels that suddenly sprung leaks. A couple would spring traps when they were moved.

There was very little wind, so the smoke and venom would hang around for a while. Upwind, I place some more Phantasm Venom Cloud boxes on timers.

Now, if the gate is also being attacked, the leaders will be directing Troopers to the armoury and to the fight. The main road to the gate needs some decent traps. Marching or running troops will not be looking where they are going very carefully. Trip wires and spikes. The idea is to wound and slow down while keeping up the confusion. I lay small Phantasm rocks alongside the main routes to encourage people to stay on the path.

What I did discover were some mining explosives. I hope there is a good crowd at the armoury. The first person through the door will set the timer going. Five to ten minutes later, there will not be an armoury.

I had enough explosives for two more smaller traps. Then I saw what we had missed. They had guard dogs for tracking and chasing escapees. I have to do something about the kennels, but if I go close, they will start barking.

The good thing about being in a Quarry is the ground is all rock. It is what has made these pits so easy to build. I burrowed ten metres to the kennel gate and set one of the explosives to go off when the gate was opened. No timer on this one. The dogs will gather around whoever comes, and I should get the person and the majority of dogs.

This, however, took time, and I was out of time now as the gas should be starting half an hour before Modrica knocked on the gate. I went to the slave bunkhouse and blocked all the exits. I kept the last explosives with me.

Action could start any time now. I was betting I would not hear action for another ten to fifteen minutes. I went to where I had stacked the four sentries I had removed and got dressed in a reasonably well-fitting Squad Leaders uniform. This way, I can direct people into the traps if necessary and generally add to the confusion. It had been a very active four hours, and my Spiritual energy was quite low. I was as prepared as I could be.

It is the waiting that gets most people at this time. The suspense of not knowing when things will start gets to people. I was a hunter. I was used to waiting for my prey.

Then, the coughing started. Here we go.